Baylor is 2-0 under Joe Klanderman after defeating Iowa State, bowl eligible at 6-3 on the season, and will be heading into Provo, Utah, with winning on their minds. A win against the Cougars would be devastating to BYU's CFP chances, but would only serve to bolster Baylor's own. An outside shot at it, but Baylor has a legitimate pathway to the CFP. The Bears must win the next three games, but it's not going to be easy.

It's been a season of confusion, uncertainty, and heartbreak for a great number of teams, but potentially none more than Baylor. Firing Dave Aranda after the Kansas game may have been the best thing that Baylor could have done this year. The Bears seem to have rallied behind Coach Klanderman and their offense is finally beginning to produce consistently from game to game, dominating UCF (who recenty defeated BYU) and outlasting Iowa State in their most recent game.

Using FanDuel, here's what the spread says, and why it's wrong.

The Spread: Baylor +7.5, BYU -7.5

An underdog in this game, Baylor will be spotting the Cougars a touchdown when they play on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT on FOX). As with how sportsbooks generally run, the home team is granted an allotment of three points for being as such. This game on paper seems to be a bit of a wash, as both teams are near equivalent throughout every season-long metric. BYU's third-down efficiency (50.9%) vs. Baylor's (39.3%) is the only notable discrepancy.

Both of these teams like to play defense, but BYU also likes to play the time of possession as well. In the game on Saturday, expect Baylor to continue their pursuit of tempo and snapping the ball with around 20 seconds left on the play clock, whereas BYU will be snapping the ball with around 10 seconds or less.

Over/Under: 48.5 Points

Expected to be a more defensive and low-scoring game, it could certainly become as such. The Bears boast one of the best defenses in the entire country and second only to Tennessee in their quarterback sack total on the year. BYU isn't a slouch defensively either though, and even though they lost their recent game to Utah, being beaten by one of the only currently undefeated teams remaining isn't that dire of an indictment. Both BYU and Baylor can score points and quickly however, as both teams are able to claim "quick-strike" capabilities with their various players.

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The Money Line: +230 Baylor, -285 BYU

The money line is a much simpler bet, no spread or over/under to think about, just pick who is going to win outright. A winning bet of $100 for Baylor to be victorious would net you a $230 profit on top of your original bet, whereas a successful $285 bet for the Cougars of BYU to win the game would net you another $100 in profit. The oddsmakers seem confident in BYU's chances of surviving the incoming Bears and winning this game, it would seem.

My Expectations

Coach Klanderman recently said that Baylor is done being a "wishy-washy" team, and I'm inclined to believe him after the past two games with him at the helm. DJ Lagway is healthy and willing (and quite able) to run, is still making good decisions in the passing game by not turning the ball over, and has shown himself to be a playmaker. BYU's Bear Bachmeier is a stud in his own right as the heart and soul of the Cougars team, a dual-threat himself.

Baylor is finding themselves offensively and their defense has been dominant all season long. BYU though isn't going to go down without a fight, and are going to provide what could be the biggest challenge for the Bears all season (up to this point). As the first game of the Bears' brutal end-of-season three-game stretch Baylor will be coming into Provo as underdogs.

Keep in mind that I could be totally wrong on this, but Baylor has BYU right where they want them; with a false sense of security.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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